Group life - an essential service

Group life cover for companies is effectively one of their utilities.  Like their gas, electricity and water they need it to work without any interruptions and to be as transparent and inexpensive as possible.  This is what Ellipse delivers. 

Our online services are designed to make setting up and running group life cover simple for both clients and advisers.  Our position as the most technologically advanced provider in the market has been recognised both by advisers and independent reviewers – we were ranked first for online capability in both the ORC annual survey of group risk advisers (Group Protection Track 2014) and F&TRC’s e-excellence report.

Efficient online processes saves the advisers’ time and increases productivity.  By minimising the time they need to spend on low-value administration more time is left to focus on high-value consultancy.  This in turn means that handling group life business becomes much more feasible for advisers of all sizes, not just the large employee benefit consultancies. 

The death of an employee is a catastrophe for that person’s family in both financial and psychological terms.  It is imperative that the money gets to the family quickly.  Making a claim and receiving the benefit should be a simple and smooth process.  To this end, we improved our already efficient claims service by doing away with the need to see an original death certificate in the vast majority of cases, instead verifying deaths via an electronic enquiry to the Register of Deaths. 

Handling claims is not just about smooth processes, though.  We recognise and acknowledge the personal tragedies that sit behind the claims we deal with and show sympathy and compassion in how we handle our communications with the people affected.  To offer practical help alongside the financial benefits we provide, we have an arrangement with Winston’s Wish, the leading childhood bereavement charity in the UK.  We encourage our insured families to contact Winston’s Wish to get practical support and guidance.  For each death claim made on our policies we make a donation to Winston’s Wish.  We also sponsor their program helping families bereaved as a result of suicide - a situation where the charity's expertise and support is often especially appreciated.  (1 in 5 calls to the Winston’s Wish helpline relate to bereavement after a suicide.)

It takes craft and investment in systems and processes to make these delivery processes simple.  We believe that offering a high-tech, low-cost group life proposition is the way to engage new companies and advisers who previously felt excluded by a veneer of complexity that has historically overlaid this corporate utility.